Hyderabad Mayor Plans Meet Against Beggar Menace

To stamp out the perennial problem of beggars, the GHMC is planning to find a solution by conducting a key meeting with NGOs and other officials on June 23 at 10 am.

Beggars often cause much inconvenience to road users, pedestrains, and visitors to temples and places of worship. Annoyed at the complaints pouring in against the beggars, GHMC Mayor B Rammohan is all set to take steps to eradicate the menace. The objective will be to ensure that those who cannot but beg get shelter and help, while those that need not beg are dealt with seriously.

Rammohan made some startling revelations - as per a 5-year-old study there are 14,000 beggars on the roads of Hyderabad, of whom only 2% actually have no option but to beg; 98% of those begging are doing so only for easy money and not due to incapability to earn through other legitimate means. And the beggars in city get nearly Rs. 1,500 per beggar per month, a number which would have gone up now both due to rising incomes of people and inflation, and also because coins of Rs. 1 and lesser are almost impossible to find and so the minimum amount donated would usually be Rs. 2 or higher.

Though the meeting aims to find a solution to the problem of beggars, it will also speak about checking the menace of hijras (transgenders) who are known to torment people at crossroads and main roads, and even on sidewalks. The plan is to come out with an action plan to find a permanent solution to the begging menace.